


to the victor

by AquaQuadrant



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Mentions of Death, Minor Violence, References to Child Abuse, dark themes, minor blood, slight angst with a sort of happy ending, the T rating is rlly generous bc nothing bad actually happens its mostly just the atmosphere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-07 19:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15225834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaQuadrant/pseuds/AquaQuadrant
Summary: Before Angry and Red were Angry and Red, they were two young thieves who, when faced with the unthinkable in an evil man’s twisted game, chose to take their own way out.





	to the victor

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So this was kinda prompted by discussions of GlowAmber and AJoyfulTrashCollection's Baroness Cassandra au from tumblr, and it included the idea that all the thieves the Baron oversees have to go through a test at one point or another; deadly combat with another initiate. And then we started discussing what might’ve prompted Angry and Red to leave the Baron in the first place, and the two ideas got crossed (don’t cross the streams!) so this happened. Enjoy some non-Varian-related angst for once!
> 
> (P.S. The name I’m using for Angry is Vivian, and Red is Autumn.) - Aqua

_to the victor_

~*~

They’d slipped.

Vivian knew it from the look in the Baron’s eyes. All it took was one small mistake. A hand on the shoulder and a soft, concerned expression- Autumn had taken a hit on their last job and Vivian hadn’t noticed until they’d gotten back, hadn’t noticed until Autumn had cringed in pain and Vivian had reacted before she knew what she was doing. Before she remembered that they were still in the Baron’s presence.

She’d shown that she _cared._ Around here, that meant only one thing.

Later that night in the small closet that’d been given to them for a room, Vivian held Autumn in her arms as silent tears streamed down her face, down both their faces, because they knew what would happen tomorrow. It always happened, eventually, but if you were lucky, if you were _careful,_ it wouldn’t be anyone you actually cared about.

(If you were obedient, you wouldn’t care about anyone, anyways. But Vivian had always been bad at following orders.)

Autumn sniffled. “It wasn’t supposed to be you.”

Vivian held her tighter. “I know.”

They’d both been preparing themselves for it. They knew the Baron’s game, they’d heard and seen what happened when a kid got too good (too promising) or too sloppy (not good enough). People called it different things; the trial, the test, the first kill. It was the way you proved your worth to the Baron, staked your claim and earned your place among the best of his thieves.

And if you failed? 

Autumn trembled in Vivian’s arms. “What are we gonna do?” she whispered.

Vivian swallowed hard. They’d tried their best. They’d put on a front for everyone; you cared only about yourself, no attachments, so if it came down to the job or your partner you wouldn’t even hesitate. So no smiles, no kind words, hardly even second glances.

When other people were around, Autumn was just Vivian’s partner. An extra set of hands for thieving and another brain for problem-solving and being clever and crafty. Useful enough to work with, but still expendable.

But to each other? They were _everything._

It’d turned out okay so far. They did good work, honing their skills and bringing back enough to keep the Baron happy. In fact, Vivian had been expecting their trials to happen soon- not only just because they were around the right age for it, but because they were becoming stand outs.

It’d never scared Vivian before. Killing was just a part of life around here. And she’d thought she was ready for it, that when the time came and it was either her or them, she’d be able to do what needed to be done.

But not with Autumn. Never Autumn.

Running wasn’t an option. They both knew it. On any given day, escaping from the Baron was impossible, but with their trial coming up? They’d be watched closely for any sign they were trying to bail.

Vivian took a shaky breath. “We’re not gonna panic, okay?” she murmured. “We’re not gonna hurt each other, he can’t make us. We… we’re gonna figure this out.”

It came out less confident than Vivian would’ve like. But Autumn nodded anyways. Trusting her. Relying on her. And that gave Vivian the last bit of resolve she needed to steady herself, to force herself to push down the panic and fear and instead focus on the task at hand.

“We’re gonna beat him at his own game,” Vivian whispered. “And show him what happens when he tries to mess with the Silent Strikers.”

Autumn tilted her face up to meet Vivian’s gaze, her bright eyes shining in the darkness. “How?” she asked quietly.

Vivian’s own eyes narrowed in determination.

“We need to make a stop by the kitchens.”

~*~

Vivian stared at Autumn across the room.

Every muscle was tense, her stomach churning in anticipation. They’d spent the whole day talking through their plan, preparing, but now that they were actually here, Vivian felt like she was going to throw up. She ran through her planned moves in her head to calm herself, her grip on her knife tightening.

The Baron sat before them, his steely gaze drifting from one to the other. Being alone in a room with him was incredibly unnerving, but Vivian reminded herself it was a good thing no one else was allowed to watch the trials. They’d only have one person to fool.

Finally, the Baron spoke. “Now then, girls. I think you know why you’re here.”

Wordlessly, they both nodded.

“The rules are very simple,” the Baron continued. “Only one of you is leaving here alive.”

Vivian had been expecting the words, but they still made her flinch. Across the way, Autumn’s expression tightened, her lips pressed into a firm line as she brandished her own dagger. Vivian forced her eyes to narrow in a glare, her heart beginning to race.

“Go.”

At the Baron’s command, Vivian leapt into action. She broke out into a sprint, closing the distance between them quickly and coming at Autumn from the side.

Autumn dodged the first swipe of Vivian’s blade, dropping into a crouch and jabbing a leg out to kick Vivian in the side. It was a pulled strike, Vivian knew Autumn could kick harder than that, but she staggered as if it’d been at full strength, throwing herself into a roll to come back up on her feet.

Pushing off with her momentum, Vivian lunged at Autumn, catching her in the jaw with a quick jab. They’d agreed upon it beforehand and Vivian was holding back, but she still felt a sharp spike of guilt when Autumn’s head snapped back.

Without stopping, Vivian bunched her fist in Autumn’s shirt, swinging her around so the red-headed girl’s back was to the Baron, and aimed her blade at Autumn’s chest. Twisting her grip, Vivian plunged the knife at an angle to look deeper than it went, piercing the pig’s bladder hidden beneath Autumn’s clothes. She pulled the knife out quickly, causing the organ to burst and bleed in a spray of red.

Autumn let out a strangled cry of pain, so real it made Vivian’s heart freeze in her chest, before she slumped to the ground. She pressed her hands against the fake wound, her skin quickly becoming strained with blood.

Vivian stepped back, panting, gripping the bloody knife. Autumn met her gaze, the slightest hint of reassurance flashing before she collapsed, falling limp.

Vivian took a deep breath to steady herself; this was where it’d all fall apart if they weren’t careful. She let herself show a little emotion, so the Baron wouldn’t be suspicious. It wasn’t hard to let tears spring to her eyes, and she made a show of quickly wiping them away, as if afraid the Baron would see, when really, that was exactly what she wanted.

There were footsteps as the Baron approached. His large, heavy hand came to rest on Vivian’s head, and she was acutely aware of the fact that he could crush her skull if he wished. “You did well, little one,” he praised, in his deep, lilting voice. “Only the strong can survive.”

Vivian’s response was automatic; cold and devoid of emotion.

“Yes, sir.”

“You know what to do now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Vivian let the knife drop to the floor, its echo loud and harsh in the suffocating silence of the room, and reached for Autumn, hooking her arms under the other girl’s shoulders. Autumn remained quiet and limp, deadweight in Vivian’s arms as she dragged her out of the room, down the halls, out of the building. It was dark outside, the air and the grass still damp from earlier rain.

Vivian’s heart was pounding madly. She forced herself to stay calm as they kept up the act, Autumn playing dead as Vivian dragged her toward the river in case any of the Baron’s men were watching them leave.

Once Vivian was confident they’d disappeared from view, down the sloped hill towards the river, she almost fell on top of Autumn to hug her, gritting her teeth to stop from crying. Autumn held her back just as tightly, murmuring soft reassurances. Vivian was almost dizzy with relief, still in shock they’d pulled it off, that they were both alive. That they’d won.

Shakily, they both rose to their feet. Vivian glanced back at the house one last time before Autumn took her by the hand and pulled her into the river. Under the cover of darkness, they ran in the shallow bank of the river, letting the water wash away any trace of them just like they’d been taught. 

Reflected on the river’s surface, the moon ran beside them, a silent observer to their victory.

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So this was just a fun little exercise I did for Angst Week, speculating what it might've been like if Angry and Red used to work for the Baron, and how they got out. Not gonna be an actual story or anything. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, let me know if you did! - Aqua


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